The present invention relates to a new and distinct hosta plant, Hosta ‘Sun Mouse’ hereinafter also referred to as the new plant or by the cultivar name, ‘Sun Mouse’. Hosta ‘Sun Mouse’ was hybridized by Tony Avent as a cross between the unreleased proprietary hybrid known only by the breeder code 2005-058 (not patented) as the female parent and the unreleased proprietary hybrid known only by the breeder code 2004-316 (not patented) as the male parent at a nursery in Raleigh, N.C., USA during the summer of 2006. The new plant was assigned the breeder code 2007-0655 and passed the initial evaluation in the summer of 2013 and has been asexually propagated by division at the same nursery in Raleigh USA since 2013 and also by careful shoot tip plant tissue culture with the resultant asexually propagated plants having retained all the same traits as the original plant. Hosta ‘Sun Mouse’ is stable and reproduces true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.
Hosta ‘Sun Mouse’ has not been made publically available until it was listed for sale Dec. 31, 2015. Any public disclosure of ‘Sun Mouse’ has been by the inventor, or one who obtained the material either directly or indirectly from the inventor, and any such disclosure has not been made more than one year prior to the application of this invention.
There are nearly 5,700 registered hostas with The American Hosta Society, which is the International Cultivar Registration Authority for the genus Hosta and a similar number of unregistered cultivars. The most similar hosta cultivars known to the applicant are Hosta ‘Giantland Mouse Cheese’ (not patented), ‘Giantland Sunny Mouse Ears’ (not patented) and ‘Solar Mouse’ (not patented). The new plant differs from ‘Giantland Mouse Cheese’ in that the habit and foliage size are much smaller on the new plant. Compared to ‘Giantland Sunny Mouse Ears’ the new plant has similar color, but the new plant is more compact. Compared with ‘Solar Mouse’ the new plant has better yellow foliage and maintains the yellow coloring through the entire growing season rather than becoming green as the situation with ‘Solar Mouse’, the new plant is more compact in habit and has smaller foliage. Compared with ‘Blue Mouse Ears’ (not patented) the new plant has golden foliage and not the green to blue-green coloration, but the stature is very similar. Compared with ‘Mini Skirt’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 26,743 the new plant has golden foliage and darker lavender flower color.
Compared to ‘Sun Mouse’ the female parent has more pointed narrow dull chartreuse leaves and a 76 cm tall scape. The male parent differs in being taller and having green foliage.
Other Hosta cultivars have a compact short habit, yellow foliage of a similar nature, or other individual traits similar to ‘Sun Mouse’ but the new plant differs from the above listed cultivars and all other hostas known to the applicant, by the combination of the following traits.                1. Excellent vigor with rapid production of divisions.        2. Leaves are slightly wavy with golden coloration and thick substance.        3. Foliage color emerges golden and holds the color well throughout the season.        4. Compact habit and useful in the miniature garden, as edging or front border, as a specimen or en masse of the landscape.        5. Flowers just above foliage of light purple bells on chartreuse scapes with strong-purple speckling to blushing near base.        